Gensokyo wars!
by SneakyDodger
Summary: Yokai have been partying too much and fighting too much too! But something else is going on behind the scenes... As usual, it's up to Reimu and Marisa to solve the incident.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one - Another noisy summer

Summer had only started a few days ago, but already the citizens of Gensokyo could feel its warm presence, the obfuscating sun rays passed through the trees ruffled by the soft wind, forming bizarre dances of light and shadow all over the grass, at night the cicada would happily cry for hours and hours, feeling the fresh breeze, reminiscent of a passing spring. Gensokyo, the land of dream, a wonderland where reality melts with the fantastic, where the legends of old are the everyday reality, on the edge of this place, that yokai and humans share, sits an old shinto shrine, it was, by no means, a wonder to look at, definitely not the kind of place where tourists would gather around to take pictures, Gensokyo rarely had any tourists anyway. This was the Hakurei Shrine, the cornerstone of Gensokyo, rustic but, somehow, full of charm, was it to fall down and Gensokyo would crumble too, this shrine hold the barrier that kept Gensokyo separated, invisible, from the outside world, people from inside didn't go out, people from the outside didn't come in, at least, not normally, and everyone was fine with that, Gensokyo was a safe haven for yokai, and that's how it had to be, but, of course, where there are yokai there must also be humans, or yokai will no longer be yokai... Like every Shinto Shrine, this one too had a shrine maiden, Reimu, the carefree and honest shrine maiden. Reimu didn't have the most fortunate popularity among the villagers, she was seen as lazy and weird ("A Shrine maiden who hangs out with yokai rather than hunting them? That's odd"), she was aware of this, that's why it annoyed her so much to host so many parties with "weird" people.

-Hey! You still haven't clean this up? - The voice was rash and youthful.

The questioner was Marisa Kirisame, the ordinary black mage, although she wasn't much of an ordinary person, in fact, she was very fond among Yokai, much like her friend Reimu, her bashfulness seems to shatter even the mightiest of the Yokai's barrier.

-I'm asleep, go away. - Said Reimu, annoyed.

-Sleeping in the middle of the grass? What will the visitors say? "Oh my, that drunkard shrine maiden did it again"

Reimu planted her hands on the ground and pushed her body up, her expression was of complete drowsiness, she looked around for a few moments.

-Ah... It's always the same, you guys come here, you drink 'till you're dead drunk and then you leave it for me to clean this mess up.

A few dishes of sake, bottles and whatever was left of last night's meals were lying around in the white floor that led to the main shrine.

-But...You were the drunkest...

Reimu ignored her friend's remark, stood up and looked around for a broom.

-Anyway, I came here to talk about something. - Marisa continued - Don't you think it's kinda odd that there've been so many parties lately? Doesn't this remind you of something?

The shrine maiden's still half asleep mind took her a few seconds to realize what her friend was referring to, but eventually she got there, a few summers ago a small oni, Suika, had increased radically the number of parties around the Shrine, by literally 'gather' the people around the shrine.

-You mean Suika? Don't think she's the reason for all this...

-Well, the villagers have been complaining that lately the yokai have been fighting too much, it's getting hard to sleep with so much noise. Think this is some sort of incident?

-Well...whatever it is I'll take a look around later, or the villagers will say I'm being lazy again...

Reimu grabbed the broom and lazily started wiping the floor, the broom was old and barely gathered any garbage, but she figured if she scratch the floor a few more times the garbage would eventually gather, no need to buy a new expensive broom.

-Anyway, I'm thinking about visit the vampire, I always wanted to know if a vampire is able to get hangovers. - Said Marisa

-Oh, if you do that be sure to warn Remilia not to bring any more devil's cake, it leaves ... - Reimu stopped talking.

Marisa was already flying away at an impressive speed, Reimu released a small sigh and got back to wipe the floor. In her thinking she questioned if there really was an incident, or if the number of parties had just increased naturally, however, she learned, from experience, that in Gensokyo nothing happens "naturally", if spring could be stolen and if the moon could be replaced, then it wasn't all that unlikely that Suika would be up to something again. But one question lingered in her mind "Why is she doing this again?" last time Reimu beat the Oni in a spellcard game, a little after Suika moved into the shrine until she got a spot on heaven, where she could drink and sing all she wanted.

"I haven't seen her since she attacked that monk's shrine... If all she wants is party, then I was sure heaven would suffice, with all that drinking and with so much celestial food she wouldn't be bored, so why is she doing this all over again? I'll have to get up again..."

Reimu looked up to the cerulean sky, there were a few white clouds, the sun was strong and she could feel its warm embrace. It was a nice day to go for a flight. If she wanted to reach heaven, then she'd have to climb the Yokai montain, home of many gods and tengu. At the top of this mountain rested a special shrine, this one too was a shinto shrine, however it's complete appearance was much more polished than Reimu's, the entrance was composed of pearl white marble and soft stones, the main shrine was carved in the finest black wood with various sculptures of shinto gods on its walls, the gray roof reflected the sunshine and showed absolutely no signs of dirtiness. This was the Yasaka Shrine, the shrine on the yokai moutain, where two gods habited as well as their personal Shrine maiden, Sanae Kotichya, a naive but hardworking shrine maiden. Due to its peculiar localization it was far too dangerous for humans to visit, so, much like the Hakurei shrine, it was pretty much void of visitors, but that was alright, Kanako Yasaka, one of the shrine's god, didn't care so much for the visitor but for her influence of the tengu, kappa, yokai and other gods who lived on the mountain.

-Gensokyo will soon face a crisis like never before. - Said Kanako

The line was so coldly delivered that Sanae took a moment to make sense of it, Kanako's expression didn't change as she spoke, her expression was that of someone who was lost in thought for a good while.

-A crisis? What do you mean? Is it an accident?

Kanako noted a small pitch of enthusiasm in Sanae's voice, the girl was still new on the incident solving business, but Kanako knew well that a shrine maiden going around solving incidents would bring her good reputation among the mountain dwellers, besides Sanae was fine and aware of this.

-Yes, it's some sort of accident

The answer came from Suwako Kotichya , a god with the appearance of a blond young girl, she was actually a few centuries old but her body was that of a 10 year old.

-Can't you feel it? It's almost as if the sky's trying to suck us in... - Suwako continued.

Sanae hadn't notice nothing similar, she was too distracted to notice something like that. Kanako sit over the stairs that led up to donation box of the shrine, Sanae looked at her confused, practically begging an explication.

-Yes, like the sky's sucking us in... Sanae, have you ever wondered what would happen if Gensokyo was to collapse into a war? - said Kanako with her hands crossed over her mouth.

-No... I mean, I'm sure Reimu and her Friends would intervene, maybe there'd be talk? Like a conference ? Then maybe the war would be avoided!

Kanako grimed at the girl's optimism, the grim slowly turned into a small laugh.

-Is that what happens in the real world? Kanako asked.

Both knew it wasn't, they had moved to Gensokyo only a few years ago, when the faith in their shrine began to decay, they knew how it worked in the outside world, if there was even the smallest hint of war then it would break down sooner or later. Suwako approached the stairs and rested her back on a pillar next to them. Their expressions had changed, they were no longer expressions of casualness, they seemed worried. Sanae had only seen those expressions a couple of times, she remembers seeing them a few weeks before moving into Gensokyo, they were not a common sight.

-Whatever's going to happen is really serious...right?

Kanako nodded.

-This isn't a normal accident, Sanae. Gensokyo is about to go out on a full-fledge war. Maybe you've noticed, but lately Yokai have been partying too much during the day, and fighting too much during the night... -Said Kanako.

Sanae felt as if for a moment the ground had shaken, "not a normal accident" was something serious, a "war" was even more serious.

-Those are just signs that something really big is about to happen... in maybe a week or two Gensokyo will turn into a battlefield... - continued Suwako.

-But why? - Sanae asked, nervously.

The gods exchanged a quick look at each other.

-Because... Judgment is coming. - Said Kanako.

Somewhere, in a realm connected to gensokyo, Hakugyokuro, where the dead could lay to rest until there was space in heaven for them, if any living human dared to enter this place he'd be the same as dead, the conversation of the gods was echoed between a Ghost and a Half-dead.

-A war, lady yuyuko? Between the religious factions? - Asked Youmu

Youmu konpaku was the Hakugyokuro's loyal gardener, a half-ghost , this is, a human who's only half dead, always accompanied by her ghost self and her two Japanese blades. Youmu was a quiet and introspective girl, although she had a young appearance she was very collected, only losing her cool when hearing scary stories.

-No, nothing like that my dear Youmu, I'm afraid this one will be on a much larger scale...

Yuyuko, the ghost queen of the netherworld. Yuyuko was one the "top yokai" of gensokyo, feared by humans and other yokai alike. Despite of her apparent clumsy conduct, she had the power to invite people into their own death, later they'd appear on Hakugyokuro. Yuyuko was laying on front of a window, watching the cold and starless sky of the Netherworld, her pink hair spread across the floor, resembling the roots of a tree nailed to the ground.

-This time, Yokai, humans, celestials, gods, tengu, oni, ghosts and even the judge will participate... A war to settle Gensokyo's fate...

-The judge...you mean the enma? - Youmu asked.

Yuyuko nodded gently. Both of them had met the enma in different occasions, she was a reasonable and compassionate person, even though she was a little too fond of going around telling people how to live their lives... but that was her job.

-For the enma to participate...this is going to be really big, right?

-Yes...the enma will want to watch over this war, to select the winners.

-Winners? Lady Yuyuko, will we also participate in this war?

Youmu was a little more nervous than she'd like to admit, her hands formed knuckles on her legs, the tension rose on her shoulders, her eyes didn't move an inch from yuyuko's lazy position.

-Yes, I am afraid so, Youmu... Even though we're not living in Gensokyo, we've become too attached to that world, a little more so than our own... Lately we've been going out pretty much every day, our link with Gensokyo is getting stronger, and , as such, we are required to participate in this war...

Youmu anxiously waited for Yuyuko to continue, but she remained immovable, like a cat taking a nap in the warm summer sun.

-Lady yu... - She continued

Behind youmu's back a face stretched, slowly approaching her ears, without giving away any sound.

-I'm gonna eat you!

The sound came from behind her, Youmu rapidly crawled clumsily her way across the room, her eyes were filling with tears and her breathe had increased its rhythm. Lady yuyuko was no longer in front of the window, laying lazily, she had sneak up on Youmu using a mirage, she was a ghost, after all.

-Lady yuyuko! Please don't do that again! - Said Youmu, with her voice cracking with fear.

Yuyuko threw her head onto her back, laughing. A few tears rolled her cheek, she grabbed her stomach, as if it was in pain from so much laughing.

-I wonder if you'll ever not fall for this, Youmu.

Her face was no longer distant and cold, her purple eyes were wide open and her lips were still forming a smile from the laugh.

-I'm sorry, I just wanted to break the tension a little bit. - She continued - But I'm afraid this war is no funny matter... Gensokyo is about to change, we should come up with some strategies, don't you think?

Youmu, still sitting with her hands together across her chest, as if begging for mercy, looked up to her master, who was now gazing at the moonless sky of the netherworld. Youmu didn't know, but Yuyuko had a plan, a strategy not to lose in this war, for now, Youmu just wanted to know why there would have to be a war, but she knew her master would be dodgy about the answers... She'd have to visit Gensokyo, once more.

Meanwhile, Marisa was flying over a small azure lake, where both fairies and frogs gather. As usual, and even though it was summer, the lake was always cold, a very fine mist hanged over it.

-It's always so chilly here... That ice fairy is up to no good again...

In the mist, Marisa could see a dark silhouette of a house, no, a mansion, the Scarlet mansion, home of the Scarlet family. This mansion was located in a small island in the middle of the lake, no one had noticed it was there for a long time due to the mist that surrounded it, but eventually Marisa ended up there a few summers ago, when she tried to stop a mysterious red mist from covering Gensokyo night and day. Marisa flew over the enormous red wall, she didn't feel the need to ring the bell to enter, she had been there too many times before. The Scarlet's mansion garden was always a sight to behold, all of it was covered in red and white roses, a few pine trees popped in a few spots. The mansion itself was a huge European building painted in dark red. Marisa didn't care much for the arquiteture of the building, all she was thinking about was sneaking into it.

-You're not here to steal, are you? We have a pretty strict policy towards criminals

The voice came from Marisa's back, surprised she turned around swiftly. The person standing behind her was Sakuya Izayoi, the elegant maid, she was kneeling down, cutting a few rose flowers and placing them into a small bag. Sakuya was the head maid of the Scarlet Mansion, a young human lady with a very sophisticated and elegant posture.

-Criminals? I'll warn you if I see one! - Answered Marisa

Just as she was about to approach the huge black wood door, Sakuya grabbed her by the shoulder.

-I'm sorry... today the mistress is unavailable.

Sakuya's expression was pretty serious, most of the times Marisa could sneak into the mansion without great problem, and even when she didn't sneak in she was usually welcomed. This was odd behavior, even for the residents of the scarlet. ("Why is the security so strict today?")

-Then I'm here to talk to Patchouli, she asked for some books. - Said Marisa.

-And... Where are those books?

Marisa looked around embarrassed.

-Oh, shoot, I must have dropped'em on my way here...

-For someone who's so used to lying... you're being a pretty lousy liar. Anyway, my mistress told me no trespassers were allowed today, please do not insist...

-So all the other days trespassers are allowed in? Anyway, I'll really have to insist, the yokai are acting weird, I bet she knows something! I'll have to go in, even if it is by force!

A small circle of light appeared on the floor, between the two girls, it quickly expanded, turning into the spellcard arena. This was the way citizens of Gensokyo dealt with their problems, a spellcard battle, a battle that allowed even the lowest of yokais and humans to hold their ground against higher beings. Both Sakuya and Marisa were formidable players. Sakuya held the power to manipulate time, while Marisa's magic skills were superb.

-Spellcard! - Sakuya screamed.

A small card made of light appeared in front of her, her arm stretched and her hand opened, still a few centimeters away from the card.

-The world! - She continued.

Her hand formed a knuckle, at the same time the card was crushed, forming tiny crystals of light that danced around Sakuya's arm. Sakuya spread her arms open, the wind blew through her hair, slightly raising it, and then, suddenly, stopped, her silver hair fell down again. Time had stopped, Marisa wasn't aware of it, she was frozen along with the whole world. Sakuya looked around, searching for a perfect spot from which she could throw her knives before time resumed its flow. The wind eventually blew again.

For Marisa it happened in a flash, suddenly hundreds of knives materialized out of thin air all of them or aiming at her, all of them approaching at an intimidating speed. Marisa jumped back, three knives hit the spot where she had been, she grabbed her broom, which immediately flew away, pushing her through the arm, a few knives followed Marisa's every move ("She's pretty serious today!"). Marisa regained her balance and pushed herself onto her broom, the knives didn't stop many were already nailed to the ground, but others kept materializing, shooting at an impressive speed. She looked for a safe spot, and came to the conclusion that there was none, no point in running, she figured if she found Sakuya she'd stop the materializing knives. But Sakuya was nowhere to be found, Marisa kept flying higher and higher, until the knives following her lose their power and fell on the floor. She was a few meters from the ground, there she could see the whole garden, but still no sign of Sakuya. ("Behind me?!") Sakuya was very keen of teleporting herself into blind spots, this allowed her to shoot her knives before her enemy noticed her. Marisa turned around quickly, Sakuya was a few meters away, up in the sky, her right arm was pulled back, holding two knives.

-You're not going to escape this!

Sakuya released her arm down, shooting the two knives with admirable strength. Marisa pushed her hands in front of her, forming a small green bubble, the knives were approaching too quickly, there was no time to dodge, Marisa's arms were pulled apart the green bubble expanded along with them forming a green shield, the knives hit it and were quickly deflected, Marisa's shield cracked a little where the knives hit it, the cracks invaded the whole shield and shatter it completely, pushing Marisa a few meters back.

-Oh, you've gotten better, didn't know you could use shield magic... - said Sakuya, suprised.

-Yeah, I learned from Patchouli... But more importantly, that was a pretty smart move, you counted my moves on the ground, so it became impossible to move there, so you'd pull me into the sky where you'd catch me off-guard! Smart!

Sakuya nodded with a small smile of pride.

-Well, it's my turn then! Spellcard! - Marisa shouted.

A card of light appeared in front of Marisa, she stretched her hand and closed her hand in front of her face. The card shattered into small crystals.

-Love sign, Masterspark!

The crystals rushed in front of marisa and turned into a huge ring of light, another one formed around the first ring, inside the first one a five-point star began to form with small lines of light, the rings began spinning on opposite way, a few bursts of electricity danced around them.

-This is my counterattack! - Said Marisa, aiming at Sakuya.

An enormous beam of light was shot at Sakuya, the beam had all the colors of the rainbow, so powerful it pierced through the frail white clouds, opening a massive gap between them, the mansion shook, as if it was hit by a small tremor, the windows were vibrating intensely.

-It's a good shot, but it misses a lot...

The voice came, once again, from Marisa's back. Marisa looked back, Sakuya was standing only a few centimeters from here, knife in hand, Marisa's beam lost her power.

-Actually...i was counting it would miss...

Marisa pointed down, to the floor, where a few meters away, her mini-hakkero was lying still. Marisa snapped her fingers and flew away as quick as she could. The mini-hakkero shot another huge beam of light, one not so powerful, but it was powerful enough to hit Sakuya and throw her a meters into the air. Sakuya fell on the ground, her body was bruised and her clothes were ripped, she was breathing heavily, her silver hair, now messy, was covering her face. Marisa slowly flew down.

-That was great... You planed your position from the start, right? - Said Sakuya.

-Yeah, I figured your move! So...uh, I'll be going in now, ok? Mind pouring me some tea? I'm a guest, after all.

Marisa pushed the old door, it creaked in response.


	2. Chapter 2 - Grand Will

Reimu was approaching the yokai mountain at great speed ("Wish I didn't have to go this way..."). The yokai mountain was a troublesome place, some of the strongest yokai resided there, but the shrine maiden wasn't worried about those, what really bugged her was the tengu society, a close-knit society, they were pretty much the owner of the mountains, any stranger would be intersected and questioned. The attitude left many yokai annoyed, the mountain used to be owned by onis, but now there were only two on Gensokyo, one in heaven and the other on the old hell, and none of them seemed particularly interested in changing their habitation. From the distance Reimu could see the mountain's river, like a frail silver line reflecting the sun's brightness.

It took nearly two hours for Reimu to reach the mountain's top, here she could almost feel the heaven's warm breeze and the smell of white lilies and chamomiles, it was a pleasant smell, everything was pleasant in the celestial's heaven, it was a place of many pleasures, never-ending booze, the most delicious food, and a lot of spiritual training. Reimu set her feet on the ground, it was pretty cold up there, she almost couldn't hear anything besides the wind's strong blow. However it was pretty obvious she was being followed, in fact her pursuer made sure not to be very sneaky.

-Why are you following me? I don't really have time for an interview right now...

-Oh sorry... I just wanted to have a little talk with you!

The voice was energetic and soft, the voice of a journalist, the person who had followed Reimu was no other than Shameimaru Aya, a tengu who occupied her time editing a news paper no one seemed interested in. She and Reimu had crossed paths many times before, each time Reimu's name ended up ridicularized.

-As long as you don't get my name on your paper...

-I promise, I'm off-duty after all!

-So, what is it? Why are you only showing up now? Just now I passed very close to your home, but no tengu came out to stop me from advancing further... not even your patrol dogs came out.

-They aren't really dogs...they're more like wolves... but that doesn't matter. Yeah, we're pretty busy with Gensokyo's current state...

-Gensokyo's state? You mean the too-many-party thing? I'm on my way to fix that...

Aya's eyes widened.

-Oh...so you don't know yet? I suppose its normal, simple humans don't pick up things like this so easily... But I kind of expected the eternal shrine maiden, the cornerstone of the humans, to actually be a little more... attentive to this small details?

Aya was having too much fun with Reimu's ignorance, she didn't dislike the shrine maiden, but it was fun to see an expression of confusion on her face.

-What are you on about? Spill it out already !

-Calm down! No need to point your talismans at me! Haven't you felt it? The pressure all over Gensokyo ? It's almost as if the sky is about to crush us all !

Reimu hadn't noticed such thing, it was normal, after all she was still a human.

-What pressure? - Reimu asked

-Gensokyo is about to enter a great war...

-That's absurd! The yokai would never prepare something like that...

-The yokai? Oh no, no, not just the yokai, everything and everyone is getting ready for war! Even the villagers of that human town! Even the lowest of yokai!

-What? No! Everyone has been partying too much!

Reimu's voice was a little too high, a little higher than she would expect.

-Yes, I suppose parties are a good way to ease the tension...but sooner or later Gensokyo will crack into a war... every party is ready for it... The vampires, the underground yokai, the ghosts, the lunarians, the gods, the taoists, and even the buddhists are raising their defenses! Everyone is just waiting for someone else to make the first move... Even the tengu are in this, this is big, Reimu.

Reimu didn't answer, deep down she had already noticed something was off, but, maybe because she didn't want it to be true, that's why she only saw the parties as the incident, because, maybe this time, it was too much for her to handle by herself. Reimu flew away, she could now see heaven's clear sky.

Heaven was a calm and deserted place, white and flowers green grass covered the rocky surface, peach tree would form in small groups, casting a refreshing shadow. The wind was gone, from the distance Reimu could hear the sound of celestial chanting pronounced in a mysterious language. Last time she had gone there was to beat up a nosy celestial who was about to cause a giant earthquake that probably would destroy Gensokyo, but now she was nowhere to be found, only the distant chant was there.

Aya's word lingered in Reimu's mind, a war between every yokai, something "big", for Aya it was fine, it was a great story for her dead-end newspaper, besides the tengu were to participate too, the tengu were a mighty force, one even Reimu and Marisa would do their best to avoid. Yokai and humans had different perceptions of everything, even for war, while yokai celebrate the war, humans greave over it.

A thick mist surrounded Reimu, slowly rising over the top of her head. This was Suika's idea of a grand entrance. The mist squeezed right in front of Reimu, forming a the silhouette of a small child with two huge horns, the mist compression was so strong it almost sucked Reimu in. The mist disappeared and the small oni jumped out of thin air.

-Oi! Reimu... - she said with a surprisingly childish voice.

Her face was red, and her eyes unfocused, this was her normal state, despite looking like a small child, she was, like most Gensokyo resident, a few centuries old, catching glimpse of an oni in Gensokyo is an amazing feat, catching a glimpse of a sober oni is near impossible, some even said Suika had been drunk for years and that she never stop drinking because the hangover would be too great.

-Suika, so you're still living here?

-Why ? are you jealous? It's so cool to live here Reimu! That celestial gives me everything i need! hahaha

-Yeah...but if you stay here too much time , you might end up a celestial yourself - Said Reimu with a sarcastic smile.

-What? No way! shut up! Anyway, what are you doing so high up here? Are you looking for the celestial? is she up to no good again?

-No , I was really looking for you...

-Oh good, cause the celestial went down today!

Suika got up in a small jump, her two huge branch-like horns nearly threw her off balance.

-So? is it a spellcard battle? You wanna practice danmaku? - Said suika.

-I was hoping not... Are you the one gathering people around the shrine for parties day and night?

Suika's eyes focused a little, she sat down again and grabbed a bottle of sake she always kept tied to her waist. She was looking rather peaceful, like a little girl playing with a rag doll.

-Yeah, that's me... The tengu told you everything right?

Reimu nodded, despite her appearance Suika was one of the major yokai of Gensokyo, her power was so great little people dared to face her, she caused an uproar a few summers before, her appearance over Gensokyo was so shocking that it even caused a major uproar in the tengu society, fearful the oni were returning to take their mountain back that the tengu occupied. Her power to control density allowed her to multiply herself as much as she wanted, this means she had a web all over the Gensokyo, somehow like a net of spies informing her of everything she needed to know.

-Gensokyo is about to enter war... like the old times! I have a big role in this one too! The enma asked me to gather as many humans and yokai as possible, parties, fights, as long as many humans or yokai gather one of the two is bound to happen! Those parties will soon stop, as more and more yokai focus on the war ahead of them... Of course this goes for humans too!

-The enma asked for this...?

Reimu knew there was no way the enma, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, would put a stop to this war... and if she was the one ordering suika to gather people, then it must mean that the order came from above. Someone above the judge of the dead.

-So it's inevitable... - Said Reimu.

-Yeah... but don't be sad, I heard no one can really while this war is going on... and in the end a few will be picked to live on!

-What? What you mean no one can die?

-Yep! The Enma said it herself "While this war rages on, no death shall fall upon human or yokai head". Think of it like a temporary invulnerability!

-And what about those who are "picked"?

-Well... I don't know much... I guess we'll find out soon enough though...

The information was a bit too much for Reimu too process, first a war, then "temporary invulnerability"? This wasn't a mere incident, Reimu's intuition sparked, much to her anguish, this was something much, much bigger than anything similar to an incident, this could be the definitive end of Gensokyo.

-I suppose it's no use to ask you to stop gather people around...?

-Not even if you beat my spellcards a thousand times!

-I see...

-However...if you want to delay this war, since delaying is pretty much everything you can do right now, I'll urge to go down as fast as you can! The real battle of this war is about to take place!

-The celestial?!

-Yup, she left awhile ago, I think she was going to the scarlet mansion, apparently she wants to play with the vampire, cause the vampire didn't go after her that last time.

Reimu quickly flew away, a small trail of grass and white petals flew after her and then fell hopelessly on the green cushion. Suika watched as the white-and-red shrine maiden soared through the sky.

-Hmm... It's so unlikely of her to worry.

Suika fell on the floor and snoozed.

Meanwhile, Marisa adventured herself within the fantastic library of the scarlet mansion, every time she went there the book shelves would switch places, sometimes the windows too , and even the floor would be paved in different materials, this was because the entire scarlet mansions architecture was controlled by Sakuya, the time-space manipulating maid. The library would change its structures ever so often just so thieves would love their way, but Marisa had already decoded its patterns of change, and could now navigate without problems.

-Patchouli! Where are you ?

A loud "shh" echoed through the book shelves. However it served to no indication to where patchouli was hidden. Marisa flew above the enormous bookshelves, containing hundreds of old books each, there was little light, that was expected since it was a vampire's house, Marisa couldn't see the end of the library, the darkness made it seem like it stretched into infinity.

-Think I'll just shoot a laser, to light the place up! - Said Marisa with a very loud cracked voice.

Immediately a voice was heard behind her.

-Please don't do that...

Startled Marisa lost her balance and almost fell down her broom, now that she was looking at the ground she acknowledge that she was at least 30 meters up in the hair, even though the shelves seemed to be only 15 meters when she rose up. The voice was Patchouli's, the owner of the library, a magician always seeking for information and knowledge, her forte was the magical arts of the elements, and was a big fan of mixing them up.

-What are you doing here? Came to steal more books? - Said Patchouli, slightly annoyed, her voice was calm and soothing.

-No, actually I'm here to return them!

-Oh? So where are they?

-Oh right, I can't use the same excuse twice... Where is Remilia? Still asleep?

-Well...it is day, you know vampires sleep all day...

-But she's not asleep, is she?

The questioned pierced Patchouli's armor. She began questioning herself just how much did Marisa know.

-We're busy, Marisa, you should pass by later.

-Ah! I knew it! That's what the villain's always say!

-Really? I thought the villain said stuff like " My vast and supreme will shall be done!"

Marisa analyzed Patchouli for a few seconds , without saying a word...

-Hey...is that an obscure reference?

Patchouli hid her face in her white rob's hood, she was blushing red from embarrassment.

-I guess...

-Anyway, I'll have to go ahead and search the house, if that's okay with you...

Patchouli opened her grimoire, among witches it was popular to carry around a grimoire, a book of great magical powers, Patchouli's had year of researched printed on its pages.

-That's certainly not ok with me! - Her voice began to lose some temper.

-Now now, don't get your library all dirty because of some vulgar burglar.

The voice was young but cool, the voice of a young spoiled girl. It was Remilia Scarlet, the mistress of the Scarlet mansion, the vampire of Gensokyo. Remilia looked like a very young girl, a human girl with her appearance would have around 12 years old. Her hair was tinted in a very pale blue, almost silver, her face was round and very pale, terribly pale. She was wearing a fancy black dress, a puffed black skirt with red endings and a small black overcoat, with thin red straight lines over it, resembling pulsating veins, the sleeves stretched all the way to her hands, covered by equally dark gloves. Her scarlet bat wings rested above her skirt.

-Oh ! So the main villain shows up!

-Oh? What am I being accused of this time?

Remilia had an elegant and arrogant attitude, some would even say she was a class-A snob. Although, her refined ways had over 500 years of practice.

-Uh... you're being accused of...sending killer maids after me!

-Well... if it's my will to send out killer maids, then let my supreme will be done!

Marisa and Patchouli exchanged looks. Patchouli closed her book, sending a small cloud of dust into the air.

-Well I'll be down there perfecting our tactic...

Patchouli turned her back on the two and flew a few book shelves ahead.

-A tactic? I knew it! So you were up to something!

Remilia sighted, her hands were over her chest, her pose was that of a very elegant young woman, despite having the frail body of a child.

-I suppose haven't caught up with the news yet... You've noticed the increased number of parties too right?

-Yeah... do you have something to do with that too? I thought it was the oni's doing! - Marisa's voice was a little more excited that she would want it to be.

- No no, you were right, it was the oni's doing...but... Oh.

Remilia stopped talking a full second.

-Where are my manners? Sakuya - She clapped her airs in the air - Would you serve me some tea?

The maid teleported behind Remilia, standing in one of the many black wood book shelves, her clothes were changed, she presented no signs of the earlier fight with the witch.

-Of course me lady...The usual ? - The maid asked.

-Wait...what about me? what kind of manners are those!

-Yes, please Sakuya, the usual...

The maid disappeared again, into thin air.

-So , yes, the oni is gathering people, when people gather around too much they'll either party or fight... this is a simple and effective rule.

-Oh yeah..there've been many fights too...

-That's why we're promoting tactics! Because there'll be a war soon!

-Whoa, a war really? Between yokai?

Marisa was surprised, there were no indications of a prior yokai war in her history books... However were history books were pretty incomplete and resumed.

-A war between everyone, it's a war for everyone in Gensokyo to share.

Marisa looked troubled.

-You're talking about war like you're talking about a dish of sake...

-I'm really surprised Reimu didn't caught up to it sooner... But you... I really expected you to remember this...

Marisa looked up at Remilia, her wings now stretched, holding her still on air, her eyes expressed confusion, and small, very small, almost a fragrance, of a memory, a déjà vu feeling took her over. ("Those wings... do they remind me of someone?"). The sun's light shone bright behind Remilia, her wings' shadow stretched to abominable proportions inside the library.

A tremendous blast was heard throughout the whole mansion, echoing through the many ever-changing corridors. Then the house shook a little, small trails of rock dust and wood fell from the ceiling. Something big had crashed against the Scarlet Mansion.

-Remilia! - Screamed Patchouli - She's here!

Remilia nodded, with confidence, her scarlet eyes sparkled with hidden the ferocity of all hells. The bright eyes, and the little light shining through the small library's windows made her skin seem more pale than ever, and her body even more frail and sickly.

-She has arrived. I hope we have all the preparations in place for our guest.

Remilia looked back at Marisa, still lost in her memories, trying to find a reason for that feeling of déjà vu ("But it was so real...") .

-Marisa, I recommend you stay and watch, this great war will unfold right in, the scarlet devil mansion will be the first chapter of this war's chronicle!


	3. Chapter 3 - The other war

Ch. 3 - The other war

Somewhere, in a realm not quite real, where sun and moon stood as equals, a fox yokai awaited her master's command. This place wasn't physical, but it wasn't quite ethereal either. Geometry was of no meaning here, here all boundaries were broken, a realm disconnected from everything, even laws, some humans dreamed of it, maybe it was just the collective unconscious of every human, compressed into a single cell. This was where Yukari rested, for humans it was a place with no sense, but for Yukari it was a winter cottage.

Ran awaited patiently, gazing at the never ending horizon, stretching in every way, the purple and dark blue sky held a few star glimmering, indifferent, millions of kilometers away, or maybe just a few meters, nothing was certain in that place. The floor stood invisible underneath ran's feet, reflecting a blue sky of a glorious summer, there were absolutely no signs of clouds and the sun shone glamorously. Ran wondered if her master was already awake, Yukari was fond of sleeping, in fact, she could sleep the whole winter, and that's what she had done. Now bored, she looked down, at the blue sky, her feet were standing still on the "floor" but her reflection was odd, her feet seemed smaller than they actually her, and her socks were purple instead of white. She was looking no longer at her reflection, but at her master, standing still on the other side of the sky.

-Miss Yukari? - Ran said, with a small tone of suprise.

Yukari's hair had been carefully arranged, split into eight ends, each ending with a small violet bow, her hair covered her leg's back. She was wearing a multi-layered skirt of a semi-transparent material, all in white, a small vest covered her puffed white shirt, her appearance had changed, Ran noted, she was, somehow, younger. A big but simple purple bow rested above her head. Her arms and hands were covered in opera-styled white gloves, with two small white bows holding their ends in place.

-Good Morning, Ran!

Yukari was no longer beneath Ran, she was now behind her, or maybe not, the skies had changed, Ran was in front of the blue sky, Yukari in front of the Purple night sky. Ran tried not to think too much about the place's clockwork, warping her mind around it would be a futile exercise, even though she was leagues away from a normal human's mind. She was a yokai, after all.

-Lady Yukari! You're already up! And all dressed too

-Yes, you took too long, guess this year I just took a small snooze...

Yukari yawned loudly and extended her arm in front of her, a gap opened, like a huge black eye opening out of nothing, the gap opened in front of Ran, all she could see was utter darkness, only Yukari could see where this gap would lead. Yukari was a very powerful yokai, her power left even gods perplexed, she had the ability to manipulate boundaries, to twist them and destroy them, if she wanted she could remove the boundary between the sky and the horizon, or the boundary between night and day, it was a very complex power, but years of refining had granted her full manipulation of it.

-Well...tell me, does Gensokyo rage in war yet?

Ran looked perplexed.

-You already know about the war?

-I figured... Gensokyo was...Noisy, when I went to sleep, I figured it was a question of time until the enma would receive orders to start the war... - Yukari took a small pause - Let's go visit a friend, yes?

Ran nodded and promptly entered the gap her master had opened, Ran couldn't see their destiny, not until they had arrived, but Yukari could see it clearly, the dark starless sky of the land of the dead.

Although the gods of her shrine had announced a war, it seemed like a pretty mundane day for Sanae, lunch had gone normally, for a minute she even questioned if there really had been a conversation about a war, but soon she would receive an odd request from Kanako.

-Eh? You want me to go hunt down the flower yokai? Who's the flower yokai?

-Lately you've been getting pretty good at yokai hunting! But you still need practice. I'm afraid I can't really tell you why I need you to hunt down this particular yokai, but I'm confident you'll succeed!

It wasn't customary for Kanako to ask for a yokai extermination, unless it was a particular disturbing one, or one who would stand in the shrine's way. Most of Sanae's work would be simple things, like performing a miracle for the humans in the village, or the yokai and lesser gods of the mountain. This was Sanae's ability, the ability to "create miracles", she didn't understand her powers to their full potential, usually she wouldn't need to, as a shrine maiden she channeled with her shrine's gods to win spellcards battles, rarely resorting to her unique power, still she was pretty proud of it, going around to both yokai and humans bragging about being basically a living god.

In an hour she was soaring the vast blue sky, searching for this "flower yokai", she had never heard about such person, and most people she'd question would be dodgy about the matter, avoid the conversation or simply denying ever hearing of a yokai who masters flowers. She realize she would have more luck just following a random path, and hope her lucks would lead her to such yokai ("Well...if it works with Reimu..."). She flew over the bamboo forest ("Why do so many people get lost here? Why don't they just fly away?"), and the human village, ever once in a while a fairy would come cross paths with her, but none would give her any useful information. She reached a small lake, figured it would be a good place to take a little break and get refreshed. She sit near the margin of the lake, letting her feet into the water, Sanae sighted with relive, her feet weren't tired, but the lake's low temperature would quickly restore her body of any heat-induced fatigue. A small fairy in a blue dress flew around the lake, she probably wasn't aware of it, but the way she flew above the lake's surface almost resembled an elegant dance. Sanae watched has the small fairy approached the lake's margin.

-Oh hey! You're the second shrine maiden from the other day!

Cirno, the fairy, had the appearance of a very young child, and the intelligence and posture of one, she was, by all means, just a small child.

-I'm not really a second shrine maiden though...

-Did you find the huge robot you were looking for?

Sanae shook her head disappointed.

-Turns out it was just a really big shadow... What about you, found the Daidarabotchi?

-Nah...turns out it was just a giant doll...

Sanae was pretty confused with that indication, but she didn't ask, something like giant dolls were nothing out of the ordinary for the citizens of Gensokyo. In fact, it was one of the least crazy things.

-Well, I got to get going, I'm looking for a flower yokai...

-Oh? You're looking for the lady with green hair?

Cirno's voice echoed the innocence of every small child. Sanae skip a breath, finally someone with some potentially important information!

-Yes! Yes! You know something about her? I've been looking all day!

-Yeah...she usually hangs around in that big flower field...over there! - Cirno stretched her arms to the left. - It's really not that hard, only an idiot wouldn't see such a big flower field!

-Yeah...idiots, haha...

Sanae flew away, from the distance she could see a small stain of yellow over the green hills of Gensokyo. ("That must be it").

Sanae was already to distant to notice, but at that time a rock shaped like an industrial diamond fell out of the sky, landing next to the Scarlet devil mansion, shattering it's walls in the process. The impact made the earth shake , the rock had the size of a bus, the trees near that area shook a little, and then, everything went back to normal.

Somewhere within the bamboo forest an enormous classic house, the Eientei, the house of eternity, shook too. Its residents didn't notice, most of them were yokai rabbits, rabbits who lived long enough to gain a humanoid appearance and extended lifetime, however one particular resident noticed this strange occurrence, the princess of the moon, Kaguya.

-It has begun... - She whispered softly.

Eirin, the princess' guardian and personal doctor noticed the disturbance in the silence.

-Excuse me, princess?

Eirin had fled the moon to assist the princess, her loyalty was as immortal as the princess herself. Her mind was very complex, no human could even compare to its advanced science knowledge.

-The war has started Eirin... I guess our little army is anxious to play.

By little army, Kaguya meant, of course, the rabbits, commanded by the rabbit-in-charge, the trickster Tewi. Eirin was a very kind person, but could be very cold and distant, after all, she was a scientist, once she understood a war was to take place she quickly warned every resident of the Eientei and began preparations. What "preparations" mean, however, was beyond anyone's guesses, even the princess'.

-I'm going for a little walk.

-It's unusual for you to even move during the warm season - Eirin said with a little laught.

-Yes, that's true, but I really got to see someone before this war starts...

Kaguya pulled the sliding door, her elegant salmon kimono dragged over the elegant brown wood of the Eientei. Even though she was barefoot she could hear her own footsteps hitting the wood, from the house's atrium she could see the top of the bamboo forest, each bamboo tree stretching into the sky, in a hopeless effort to reach it.

At the end of the bamboo forest, an apparently young lady sat down, looking the horizon, her white hair was long , if she was standing it'd reach her heels, her white shirt presented signs of burning, her pants were large and covered in anti-flames talisman. This was Mokou, like the princess she too was immortal, because of her families' honor she declared war on the princess for all eternity, but many years, many eternities have passed since then. Mokou seemed like a pretty cold person, however she was actually very helpful with human lost in the bamboo forest, and would even help the people of Eientei once in awhile. Rumor has it, that immortality had cracked her mind, but she was no longer human, and as such her mind was much more powerful. She sat there, maybe for a few minutes, maybe for a few hours, time is a funny thing when you're immortal, time doesn't make sense for someone who doesn't have the time counted. The sound of grass being ruffled caught her attention ("Maybe another lost rabbit?"), it was princess Kaguya, the sight surprised Mokou, it was unusual to see the princess walk, principally alone, principally at this time of the year.

-Oh? If it isn't the good-for-nothing princess! What do you want? Got lost? - Mokou asked, with serious disgust.

Kaguya released a guttural noise of annoyance and arrogance.

-Oh! You've got a lot of nerve for a hobo!

-I'm not a hobo! I just live on the forest!

-Anyway, I'm here in peace, so don't try to backstab or something.

-Like I'm the backstabber! Shut-in princess.

-Smelly hermit

Kaguya sat down next to Mokou, from that spot she too could see the horizon of Gensokyo. Their insults and bickering had more to do with friendship than true enmity.

-About this war... - Kaguya started - How do you feel about it?

-I... -Mokou couldn't really answer - I haven't thought much of it yet...

-Are you scared?

Mokou dropped a head a little, Kaguya didn't notice this, her eyes were locked on the blue sky.

-No... It's just kind of weird, we always assumed we were immortal... - Said Mokou.

-Well...we're not really going to die... I heard everyone "rebirths" from this war... except the winners of course... If you're scared you can always try to win.

-Nah... -Mokou lay down on the grass, her hands crossed behind her head - I think I'm pretty curious about this "rebirthing".

Both stood silent for a few seconds, or maybe a few minutes...

-I'm scared... - Kaguya said, in a low voice.

-Uh?

-I like being alive... in the Moon, in the Moon I was never really alive, only when I got here, when I met everyone, only since then I have truly been alive... I'm not going to fight much in this war, in Eientei we're merely upping our defenses, but... I really didn't want to lose everything I've gained here - Kaguya's voice was cracking a little, Mokou feared she would start crying.

Again, Mokou was unsure how to answer that, her social skills had rusted quite a bit since she took the bamboo forest as her home.

-It'll be ok...I bet we'll all be together when we "rebirth". Besides, this has happened before, and everyone seems pretty a-ok with it!

Again, they stood in silence a few moments, they had been alive for so long but they had rarely actually sat down to talk. Even though none of them wanted to admit, it was actually pretty pleasant.

Meanwhile, miles above them, the ghost queen and a half-human-half-ghost awaited patiently for a friend. Yuyuko sat down near a long dead cherry tree, a tree that had turned into a yokai, but was now sealed. Yuyuko never found out exactly how the tree was sealed, but apparently unsealing it would bring her bad consequences, as her dear old friend had once explained her. Youmo was still troubled about the war that was to rage in Gensokyo.

-Lady Yuyuko...what is the nature of this war?

-You'll find out soon enough, dear... Meanwhile don't think too much about it, there won't be bloodshed.

-Still... you're being pretty vague, why can't the higher yokai talk normally, instead of using riddles and vagueness...

Yuyuko crackled.

-That is true, isn't it? I guess a bit of mystery gives a little spice to life!

-But you're dead, lady Yuyuko!

-Oh my...! - Yuyuko seemed genuinely shocked.

Youmu sighed.

-Well, I suppose I should enlighten you with the meaning of this war...

-This war has a meaning?

Yuyuko nodded.

-You see, every once in awhile, Gensokyo gets a little too noisy...no, no, too unbalanced...So it's required for the citizens of Gensokyo to be uhm... how should I explain you this...? "Reborn" would be the best conceit... Yes, "reborn"! In a way, it's sort of like when you have to clean the house because there's too much crumbs in the floor! Soon they'll be replaced with new crumbs! But, technically, they're the same crumbs, just a bit different, with a new story!

-Lady Yuyuko, what did I say about riddling? - Youmu crossed her arms over her chest.

-But...I'm not being riddly!

-No, you're just not making any sense!

-Ah... Well let me tell you a story then...

Yuyuko pat her hand over a root of the dead tree, inviting Youmu to sit down, Youmu obeyed.

-A long time ago, Gensokyo was different... Have you heard about Makai? The hell city? It still stands, even today, still it's merely a shadow of what it used to be... Long ago, there was a goddess, and there was an Angel, and a vengeful ghost! Much like ourselves!

-We're hardly vengeful - Youmu quickly remarked.

-None the less... Gensokyo was different, because different people lived in it, but then this war happened...This same war, but some few years ago... Everyone but the "winners" had to be "reborn" for a new era in Gensokyo. After that, came the scarlet mist, and then we stole the spring, and... I think you get the idea...

-No, I don't get the idea at all! Lady Yuyuko, you're a terrible storyteller!

-Oh? Am I so?

-You definitely are! Who are those people? A Goddess, you mean the one in the mountain?

-Ohohoho, no not that one, even though I think they might be connected somehow...

-And these winners? Who are they?

-Only they really know... I was never there to watch this war...but at the same time I was... In a distant, locked, memory I was... But it doesn't really matter, soon all our memories, everyone we really are will be unlocked, right before we have to reborn...

Yuyuko's explanation didn't clear Youmu's mind, instead it had plugged her mind deeper in confusion. A war, with winners and rebirths... without bloodshed, to welcome the new era of Gensokyo. Every high yokai was making big preparations for it, even though they seemed so carefree.

-By the way, Lady Yuyuko... What tactic will we execute to participate in this war?

-Oh, today you're making some pretty pertinent questions, Youmu! Ever wondered why we have a huge gate that anyone can pass just by flying about it?

-Yeah...actually no, I just assumed you were too lazy to build an actual barrier...

-How rude! You'll soon discover why we need that...

A gap, like a void eye socket, opened in thin air. Yuyuko calmly stood up, her blue and white kimono, with flower drawings all over it, and her pink hair danced in the soft breeze of the dead world. Her eyes were serene, looking at the distance.

-Our friend has arrived... Go prepare her some tea, will you?


	4. Chapter 4 - Red mist and scarlet clouds

The giant stone fell from the sky, those who saw it swore a small barrier of fire formed in front of it. The impact was huge, the tremor it caused was very localized but shook the entire mansion and the lake around it, the lake waved in rage, as the external walls of the scarlet mansion crumble. The diamond-shaped stone now buried deep into the ground, formed a massive ring of earth and grass around. The red walls were fell down, the white pavement of the garden was cracked, and a major gap opened in the east side of the house, exposing various levels of the house.

Tenshi, the spoiled celestial, fell from the sky, after the stone. She land in the center of the massive boulder, the impact nailed it deeper into the ground. Tenshi, still inclined from the huge fall, pulled her hair out of her, surprisingly young, face, as she returned to her posture she gazed upon the destruction she had caused. ("This will suffice... Gensokyo will forever know...I've started this war!"). She grabbed her sword, the sword of hisou, a magical instrument that revealed a person's true temperament in the form of weather phenomena, and stabbed it in her gut. Tenshi felt no pain, but a red mist enfolded her, and, after a few seconds rose up to the sky.

-Now it's a matter of time... - Tenshi said, looking up to blue sky.

-Sadly, you're out of time...

The voice came from inside the mansion, a silhouette, hiding under a shadow, it was hard to see, but it seemed like a small girl, dressed elegantly, with two large bat-like wings stretched up to three or four times her height.

-Why don't you come out of the shadows, silly vampire?

Remilia was a noble woman, being called silly by a mere celestial was much more than she could allow, however, she made sure the celestial's petty insults wouldn't get to her.

-Are you kidding? And get a sunburn? Why don't you come here, let's play in the shadows!

As Remilia talked the sun quickly approached the horizon's line, the sky grew orange and violet, this was the twilight, a "weather" phenomena caused by Tenshi, or rather, this was tenshi's temperament expressed in a weather phenomena. Tenshi imagined Remilia could protect herself from the sun using an umbrella while it was high in the sky, but she could never protect herself from the sun when it was right in front of her.

-Oh, so you're using you're little weather tricks to make me vulnerable? - Remilia asked, snarky.

-Yes... For a demon so powerful like yourself to have so many weaknesses, most of them caused by weather phenomena no less... It would be stupid for me not to take advantage of that, don't you think?

Tenshi was confident, her smile showed that.

-Yes... I did expect this much from you... of course I made my own preparations...

Remilia snapped her fingers, still hiding on the shadows, the light was dangerously close to her, in tones of orange and scarlet. The sun would stay stuck in the horizon for as while as Tenshi wanted, this wasn't a natural occurrence, the sun wasn't really near the horizon, but the illusion was powerful enough to weaken a vampire.

-Patchouli! Sakuya!

Sakuya appeared, again, without warning, a few playing cards turned around her and then fell down, Patchouli opened the door, next to Remilia, her grimoire levitating in front of her.

-Here's your tea milady.

The maid was holding a hot tea jar on her left hand, and a silver tray with a delicate white cup of tea on the right hand. After being filled with tea, Remilia grabbed it, and quickly drank the scarlet liquid inside the cup. When done, she placed the cup back in the tray, in an instant it disappeared, from the maids hand, so did the tea jar. The maid walked a few steps forward, near the edge of the now broken floor, Patchouli followed her.

-Eh? Is it three against one? I'm ok with that, it's not like any of you earthlings has a chance against me!

-No, I'll be your opponent today...They are just giving me a little support - Said Remilia, as she slowly took a few steps back, approaching the wall of the room.

Patchouli searched her book and conjured a few intangible words in quick succession. Sakuya looked to her left, where patchouli stood, and crossed her arms above her stomach, a small circle of green light, with 12 strings crossing it, resembling an old clock, appeared under her feet.

("They're conjuring a spell? Together?!")

-May the day end, Sun rest from your never-ending cycle, allow the stars to bright now, allow them to shine upon this realm! - Said patchouli, finally she caught her breath.

Sakuya's circle expanded with vertiginous speed, reaching every horizon in a matter of seconds, a small wave of green light growing until it hit the sun, peeking behind the mountain. The line separating the shadows of the room and the light of dawn quickly approached Remilia, and passed through her in a quick flash, Remilia closed her eyes with irritation. The sun was quickly hid behind the mountains. The mantle of night covered the summer sky of Gensokyo.

-What?! How did it became night?

Now that Gensokyo was purged in darkness, Remilia was free to walk around.

-It's simple - She said, approaching the edge - I gathered a little data on you, from my friend's previous encounters with you... You have a thing for causing twilights, don't you? We figured that would be your weapon against me, Twilight is the most vulnerable time of the day for a vampire, dawn, the beginning of day, we don't deal very well with that, and you know it. However, thanks to my friend's magical power, and my maid's time manipulation, we reverted your twilight into complete night! A little trick we learned when we tried to stop those aliens from stealing our moon... Technically speaking, we're in the middle of last night, at least in terms of earth's movement.

-You span the whole earth?! - Tenshi asked.

-Well...we rewound it... although it took a lot of power... So we're leaving the rest to you, Reme... - Said Patchouli, her expression was of utter exhaustion.

-It's ok, you can go rest for a bit... - Remilia said.

Remilia was satisfied, she wasn't just happy that she had change the tides of battle, she was satisfied because of the celestial's humiliation. Tenshi's face blushed red, either of humiliation or rage. Sakuya and Patchouli retired themselves.

From inside the mansion, Marisa noticed the absurd lack of light inside the library, she ran to a window and to her surprise night had covered Gensokyo ("Night already?"), her mind was still dazzled, a sensation of nostalgia and homesickness were filling her gut. Marisa ran outside, remembering Remilia's words ("I recommend you stay and watch..."), she grabbed her broom, and flew up to the mansion's roof, now partially destroyed. From there she could see the giant rock with a crown of dirt forming on the floor around it ("The celestial is here? She really has a knack for house destruction..."). Marisa flew a little higher, to see where the house owners were. A fresh breeze passed through her ("oh, right, it's night!") It took Marisa a few minutes to calculate Remilia had used some kind of spell to revert the day into night, and maybe even stopping night completely, after all, she had done it before. ("But...a spell like that, not just stop the night, but revert it... That must have cost a lot of MP"). It was pretty dark, but the moonlight allowed Marisa to watch the bickering between the celestial and the vampire.

-You've got alot of guts! Snob vampire! destroying my spell like that! - Said Tenshi, bursting in rage.

-I had about enough with your loud mouth, you creep! I'll send you back to heaven, this time drained dry! - Answered Remilia, with visible arrogance.

("In the end, they're both just spoiled children...") Marisa tought.

Marisa analyzed the extend of the damage on the scarlet house, various levels of the house were now exposed to the night's fresh breeze, she counted tree, including the basement. ("oh, the basement, that's not a good place to be uncovered...").

-If you're gonna say that much, I'll be sure those will be your last words! - said Tenshi.

Tenshi stretched her arm, a bright card of light formed in front of her open hand.

-Spellcard! Heaven & earth "land that oversees the distant world below"!

As Tenshi pronounced these words, her fist closed, the card in front of her was crushed, forming a few crystals that rained down into the destroyed floor. Marisa immediately flew a few meters higher ("uh-oh"). The ground shook violently, Remilia, still at the edge of the broken floor, watched cautiously. Suddenly a huge pillar of pure stone erupted from the ground at an amazing speed, crushing multiple layers of the house in just a few seconds. Remilia dodged the pillar, bricks and pieces of what was left of the floor flew angrily in the air. The pillar kept growing, and before it stopped another one erupted, twice as large, this one crushed what was still standing of the left side of the mansion. Remilia flew around, dodging every pillar that erupted from the floor, each pin-pointing her flight with admirable precision.

-Alright! You can dodge! But let's up our game! - said Tenshi, with a confident smirk.

Tenshi stabbed her yellow sword upward, the yellow blade shook a little, flashing a flame-like appearance, then it shone brightly, a scarlet light, firing red rays in every direction, There was no pattern, not one Marisa could detect from her first impression, just many scarlet lasers shooting in every direction into infinity, as the rock pillars grew from the ground. Remilia was almost caught in one of the scarlet rays shot by the hisou sword, but quickly dissipated into a cloud of hundreds of bats. The bats approached the celestial, from that perspective, the scarlet lasers seemed like a huge dark red lotus flower, they were only being shot upward, apparently. The closer the bats approached the smaller the cloud would become, until finally, Remilia returned to her normal form, now standing side by side to the immobile and defenseless Celestial, around her the Pillars, some larger than others, furiously burst from the ground with a deafening sound, the sword's rays shone brighter than ever, however Remilia knew it's pattern, the closer she got, the easier it'd become to dodge it's clockwise movement. Remilia walked around the Celestial, enjoying her frustrated expression. When she got tired, her hand rose up to the sky, a fiery scarlet aura formed a huge claw around her hand, Remilia dropped it into the celestial's face, the hisou sword stopped shooting rays, and no more pillars erupted, the celestial fell down the diamond-shaped stone, dropping a few meters into the ground. Remilia laughed loudly.

-Can't believe you're this easy! You were the reason why the weather was acting up the other day? I can't believe Reimu had so much trouble with someone like you! What are you? A stage 2?

But the celestial was far from over, so far she had only activated one of her spellcards. From Marisa's point of view, it seemed like the Scarlet devil mansion was about to crumble, the backyard was filled with white rock pillars forming a strangely good looking tower around the diamond shaped stone. Tenshi recovered from her fall, she was obviously annoyed, but strangely calm, her expression was that of a bad poker player hiding a trump card.

-Make your move, you brat! - She said, her voice was almost guttural.

Remilia stretched her arms, each one to their respective direction and joined them in front of her, a card with a glassy effect appeared in front of her.

-Spellcard! Scarlet Shot!

Remilia roughly closed her hands, the card exploded, forming a few small crystals that levitated around her fists. Marisa knew this spellcard, it was a pretty straightforward one, Remilia would shoot a lot of huge red bullets that left a trail of smaller, slower bullets, the small bullets were the problem, before Tenshi realize it she'd be trapped within hundreds of bullets trails.

Remilia stretched her arms into the sky, her hands formed a mystical "U", above the moon shone brightly, with a red hue, Marisa thought it was getting bigger. A red ball of energy formed around Remilia's hands, her expression radiated confidence. The energy ball kept growing, soon it'd be around 10 meters long,still the vampire didn't show any trouble managing it.

-You won't like this one bit, it'll send you right back to heaven's door!

The enormous ball was thrown at the celestials location, who quickly stabbed her sword in the ground, another pillar of stone erupted beneath her feet, elevating her several meters off the floor. The pillar erupt with an odd angle, it was obviously aiming at the diamond-shaped stone, where Remilia stood, the celestial was gaining momentum to jump above the vampire and slash her with her hisou sword. The Giant bullet blew up in the ground, transforming itself into dozens of smaller bullets, Tenshi was already out of the danger zone, but she noticed the trail of bullets it had left behind, moving slowly, as she looked back at the vampire's location, Tenshi realized she had moved again, she was no longer in the top of the diamond-shaped stone, the pillar Tenshi was on stop growing, she looked around searching for the vampire's whereabouts.

-Over here, dumbass!

The voice came from above, Tenshi looked up, startled. Remilia was holding another energy ball , like a fantastic red moon above her palm, she threw it at the diamond stone where Tenshi stood, the ball reached its mark, it trembled on top of the diamond-shaped stone growing smaller and bigger, promising to cause a huge explosion. Remilia stood above, her knuckle closed and the ball exploded, a bright light shone inside it, causing a tower-like explosion, needles of scarlet energy were reaching for the sky planted on the top of the diamond stone, like a wild angry flame.

Remilia laughed hard.

-You know, the whole purpose of the card was to be caught by the smaller bullets, the big ones were just the decoy! I'm sorry I confused you with a stage 2, you're really a stage 1 right? Even fairies stand more chance than you!

Tenshi stood up again, but didn't lift her head, Marisa figured the humiliation was too big. However, she was wrong, Tenshi didn't lift her head up because she was hiding her sneaky smile.

-You're really boring, let's just finish this, ok? - Remilia continued.

-God! You're such a talker! I'm getting fed up with that high voice ! - Tenshi answered.

Both stretched their arms.

-Spellcard! - They said in unison.

-Gungnir! The spear! - Said Remilia

-Meteorological Revelation! - Said Tenshi

Red mist gathered around Remilia, she lift her arm into the air, the mist followed and formed a huge spear of red light, the spear's head was larger than the rest of the body. The same mist surrounded Tenshi, Tenshi with her sword up in the air absorbed it. The vampire threw her spear in Tenshi's direction , who answered by wildly jerking her sword in the air, releasing a needle-like projectile. The two bullets clashed and formed a circular explosion. The explosion was small, but it emitted a deafening trembling sound, the tower made of erupted rocks shook a little, so did the scarlet mansion. Remilia quickly created other spears, throwing them rabidly at Tenshi, each of them hit the mark, but Tenshi dodge by jumping from pillar to pillar. The vampire kept flying and throwing spears. Tenshi was trying to reach higher grounds, she was a slow flyer, so jumping was her best option, once in awhile she'd summon a new pillar to land on top of, but Remilia's spears would quickly disintegrate them. The celestial stretched her hand, another card of light with a faint scarlet mist hanging over it appeared.

-Spellcard! Keystone "World press"!

Remilia stoped.

-She's canceled her spell card to activate another?!

The move surprised the young mistress. Tenshi planted her feet on the diamond-shaped stone and flew up with miraculous speed in a straight line, Marisa only saw a brief flash of her passage. Remilia searched the dark sky for any hint of the celestial's location. A grave tremor was heard, like that of a thunder storm. Suddenly a gray, rough-looking body showed up in the sky, reflecting the moonlight, as it approached the ground it grew bigger and bigger. Tenshi had flew up beyond the sky and created a giant keystone, the altitude would be enough to cause a giant earthquake. Remilia kept watching.

-That's stupid, I'm flying it's not like an earthquake will affect me - She said, causally.

("These guys are really hardcore..."), Marisa thought.

The rock kept approaching, Tenshi placed her hands on the flat surface of the keystone pushing it forward while keeping its balance. Remilia calculated the stone's mass and area and flew a few meters away from the crash point. The Rock fell exactly on the same place where the first had landed, now surrounded by all kinds of different shapes of rock pillars. The impact was great, Remilia watched from a safe spot, the sound of rock cracking was unbearable, Marisa had to cover her ears with both her hands. With the pressure, the rock pillars were suddenly pushed into the ground, curiously there was no tremor, it was like the pillars, now, presumably, buried deep in the ground had absorbed the whole impact. The keystone kept sinking with extreme ease into the soil.

-That's it? That's your last spel-

Remilia's speech was interrupted, without warning more pillars of massive stone fiercely erupted from the floor, the pillars surrounded the giant keystone where Tenshi stood in a matter of seconds, Marisa watched, the pillars erupted like a sea of white marble. There was no warning, they just shot out of the ground as if they were being sucked into the sky, Remilia was caught, the hit was heavy and threw her several meters on the air. Her body fell on the keystone, trembling violently.

-Hahaha! Yes! How does that feel? Humiliating enough for you?! Hahaha! Arrogant bastard! - Tenshi said, victorious.

Remilia planted her palm on the rocky floor, pushing her exhausted body up.

-Shit... - Remilia murmured.

-You lost! - Tenshi shouted with a skyward scream.

The celestials behavior bordered on hysterical. But Remilia wasn't defeated yet, no, she wouldn't allow a spoiled celestial to stain her noble name like that. She'd have to pay.

-You little shit... Can't you even count? I still have one spellcard left! - Remilia said, on her limit.

A red semi-invisible card appeared in front of Remilia's face, she reached to it, her body still dragging on the floor, and crushed it, red mist surrounded her with agitation.

-Spellcard! Midnight king "Dracula's cradle"!

With a jump, Remilia placed her feet and her left hand on the floor. The red mist grew violent, gathering around her like a small tornado, her legs were bent, her posture was rather primal, she was ready to jump. The victorious smirk was wiped off the celestial's face, now gasping with surprise. The vampire jumped wayward, red wave-like lights trailed her flight, the celestial was caught in the process. Remilia was spinning, her nails slashing in every direction leaving the suggestion of red slashes hovering in the air , the defenseless celestial screamed in pain.

-This will end you! - Remilia said, cracking her noble voice.

The flight crashed into the broken mansion, a cloud of dust expanded as the two deepened into the bowels of the scarlet palace. Marisa watched from the outside, the house shook violently, a few hobgoblins watched from the backyard cheering for their master. She figured the house would undertake some serious construction work, it's european elegance was compromised, the various tremors had scarred the external red walls with enormous cracks. About half of the house was now laying on the floor in the form of mountains of red bricks, broken floor tiles and dust.

After several minutes of suspense, Remilia approached the, now destroyed, east side of the house, her dress had been ragged by Tenshi's ferocious attack, but her expression was that of victory, she lift up her knuckle in the air, with a confident smirk. The hobgoblins celebrated with claps and strange dances ("You're the best little mistress!"; "We never doubted you!"; "Please let us keep our jobs!"). Marisa approached her.

-You won? - She asked

-Yes, that celestial will forever now the power of the house of Scarlet! - Remilia said, sighing with observable arrogance, her noble posture had returned.

Marisa opened her mouth to congratulate her, however...

-Congratulations...

Someone had anticipated her, the voice was calm and composed, very lady-like. Marisa turned around, startled. Remilia mimicked her. The mountain horizon opened, it literally opened right in front of their eyes, a black mouth with eyes for teeth.

-Oh, Yukari? - Marisa asked.

Inside, Yukari reached for the lower border of the gap, pushing herself up.

-Hello! - Yukari said, lively - Congratulations, thanks to your efforts this war is now on the move! - The enthusiasm was that of a TV host announcing a popular game.

-Yes, I know that. Still that doesn't justify your visit, does it? What are you doing here, yokai sage? - There wasn't much sympathy in Remilia's voice.

-Oh my, that's right - Yukari answered, her expression was ditzy - I came here to apologize, you see... this? - Yukari stretched her arm and pointed to the night sky - It was an impressive spell, hadn't seen one like that in a long time... however, it'd be too troublesome if you spun the whole world just so you'd have advantage of the celestial...so, as soon as I realized you were casting such a tremendous spell, I placed you all in a pocket dimension, it didn't affect your spell...

Yukari snapped her finger, immediately the sky became light blue again, the sun was shining high in the sky, she pulled a pink victorian styled umbrella and threw it at Remilia, who quickly opened it.

-So you threw us all in a pocket dimension just so Sakuya's and Patche's spell wouldn't affect the outside world, clever. - Remilia noted.

The celestial approached the group conversation, her clothes were completely ragged, exposing her left shoulder, her face was scratched and bruised and her breathing was heavy.

-As for you, celestial, having all the upper hands and still lose... Somehow it fits you well. - Yukari said

-You earth dwellers are so sour... I'm going! - Tenshi answered.

Marisa felt a bit of compassion for the celestial. Tenshi approached the destroyed floor of the mansion and flew above the clouds. Yukari waved goodbye and retired herself.

-Well, that was odd... - Said Marisa.

-With those two around, everything is bound to be odd...- Remilia answered.

The feeling of homesickness still hovered over Marisa.

-Oh yeah...about early, you were acting really weird and riddly...

-Riddly? That's suiting of a high demon like me! - Remilia answered, arrogantly -Nonetheless... don't stress too much over those memories, or feelings... soon enough everything will come to light.

Saying this, Remilia turned back, the shadows of her mansion's hallway surrounded her. Marisa flew away, there was nothing else to do in that place.


End file.
